Freddie Kitchens hires Chris Jones, former CFL head coach and an Alabama connection

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Freddie Kitchens dipped back into his past to find one of his defensive assistants.

He hired Chris Jones, former coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, as a Senior Defensive Specialist.

Jones, 51, was a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1997 when Kitchens was a quarterback there under Gene Stallings. Jones has won Grey Cups with four different teams, including with Edmonton in 2015 when he was head coach.

Jones took over as head coach of the Roughriders in 2016, and guided the team to a 5-13 mark in a rebuilding season. They improved to 10-8 in 2017 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Kitchens is also interviewing former Cardinals defensive coordinator Al Holcomb on Wednesday, according to Joe Person of The Athletic.

Holcomb spent a year as coordinator there under head coach Steve Wilks, now Browns' defensive coordinator.

Kitchens has hired most of the key members of his staff, including offensive coordinator Todd Monken, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer. He’s also hired associate head coach/offensive line coach James Campen, a former NFL center who played with Browns GM John Dorsey in Green Bay.